The work of the Dáil

Leaders' Questions

During Leaders’ Questions, the leaders of Opposition parties and groups may put brief questions on matters of topical public importance. On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, the Taoiseach usually attends to answer Leaders’ Questions, but may nominate another Minister to reply. On Thursdays, the Tánaiste usually answers Leaders’ Questions but another Minister may answer if the Tánaiste is unavailable. 

A maximum of four Leaders’ Questions are permitted in any one day. Leaders or group representatives are called to ask questions in sequence based on a rota agreed by the Committee on Standing Orders and Dáil Reform. Each leader or representative is allowed up to three minutes to put the initial question, and the Taoiseach up to three minutes for an initial response. The leader may then ask one supplementary question for up to one minute, with the Taoiseach in turn allowed one minute to reply.

Unlike other parliamentary questions, Leaders’ Questions are not required to be notified in advance.

Order of Business

Usually on a Tuesday, the proposed arrangements for the week’s business, as contained in the report of the Business Committee, are put to the House for decision.

Questions on Policy or Legislation

Following the Order of Business, and as a separate item of business on Wednesdays and Thursdays, Standing Orders provide that the Ceann Comhairle may permit, at his or her discretion, questions to the Taoiseach about the taking of business which has been promised, including legislation promised, the making of secondary legislation, a matter of public policy or administration, and when Bills or other documents needed in the House will be circulated.

Legislation

The power to make new laws is the prerogative of the Houses of the Oireachtas. All proposed new laws are introduced into the Oireachtas as Bills. A draft of a proposed new law is called a Bill. 

Any Member of the Dáil or Seanad may initiate a Bill. Government Bills are approved by the Cabinet before being presented to the Dáil or Seanad. Non-Government Members, that is, Opposition Members or backbenchers in Government parties, can also bring forward their own Bills, known as Private Members’ Bills, PMBs. The Standing Orders of each House govern the admissibility of Bills.

A Bill must pass through both the Dáil and Seanad before it can be enacted. The Stages of Bills are detailed in the Standing Orders of the Dáil and the Seanad. Once a Bill has passed through all Stages in both Houses of the Oireachtas, it is sent to the President for signature and promulgation as an Act.

Motions

A motion is a proposal framed in such a way that, if agreed to, it would claim to express the will or judgment of the House. Any Member may table a motion.

Typical Private Members’ motions may take the following form:

These types of motions are usually taken during Private Members’ time and topics of national and international importance have been discussed, as well as matters of concern to particular regions, groups or industries.

A Private Member's motion which is not moved within 12 months from the date on which it was first placed on the Order Paper shall be deemed to have lapsed, notwithstanding the right of Members to table such motion again.

Statements

Statements may be scheduled on a number of topics of considerable importance to the House where there is no legislation or motion covering their discussion.

Standing Orders states that a Government member can make a statement in the Dáil on any topic, as long as they notify the Ceann Comhairle in advance. The business arrangements would normally also allow Opposition parties and groups to contribute to the statements.

Parliamentary questions

Standing Orders give Members both the right and the opportunity to put questions to a member of the Government. The Questions Office is responsible for matters connected with parliamentary questions, including publication of the Questions Paper.

Standing Orders provide that questions to a Minister must concern "public affairs connected with [the Minister's] Department or matters of public administration for which he or she is officially responsible (including bodies under the aegis of his or her Department in respect of Government policy)". The purpose of questions is to elicit information and not to impart it and, to that end, questions should be brief.

There are two main categories of parliamentary question: those to which the Taoiseach or a Minister is to reply to in person in the House, known as oral questions, and those to which the Member is seeking a written answer.  All of the questions put down by Members are examined by the staff of the Questions Office on behalf of the Ceann Comhairle to ensure that they comply with Standing Orders. If the Ceann Comhairle decides that a question does not comply with Standing Orders, the question will be disallowed and the Member who put the question down will be notified.

Apart from the Taoiseach, Ministers answer ordinary questions on the basis of a daily rota, with each of them answering questions on one day in approximately every five weeks.

• Find out more about the time allocation for questions and the types of questions

Topical Issues

Topical Issues provide Members with the opportunity to raise issues of concern relating to public affairs or matters of administration, whether of a national or international nature. To do this, they must give notice to the Ceann Comhairle of the issue they want to raise. The Ceann Comhairle then selects up to four issues for debate on a single day.

In each case, the TD concerned makes a four-minute initial statement and the Minister has a right to make a four-minute statement in reply. The TD then has two minutes for a supplementary statement and the Minister has two minutes for a concluding statement.

Private notice questions

A private notice question must relate to a matter which, in the opinion of the Ceann Comhairle, is of urgent public importance and has arisen so suddenly as to prevent Members from tabling ordinary oral or written questions within the normal deadlines.

Weekly voting block

The Dáil has a weekly division block generally on a Wednesday evening where divisions on non-urgent questions are decided. These divisions are generally on motions or second stages of Bills.